Windows 10 resetting user chosen default apps

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Fully updated (per Susan Bradley’s patch recommendations) 3 yr old Win 10 pro machine (self-build). When PC goes to sleep all open windows close (for example all Chrome windows have to be restored afterwards) and all my default apps are reset to Windows defaults. I’ve searched the web for hours and tried numerous fixes to no avail. Problem started about the time I tried to replace Photos with older Windows Photo viewer, which runs fine on my 18 yr old Win 10 pro PC. About this time I also loaded Power Toys. In addition the problem occurs at any standard reboot. Most of the programs I use are very common; Firefox, VLC, Irfanview 64, Foxit Reader, Foobar 2000. I also have recently loaded eM Client to test out, but it won’t stick either. Totally flummoxed. So aggravating! I actually have real work to do. Thanks for your help

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Do you have administrator rights and I’m assuming you are going into the file association section and seeing what is selected there?  Did this just start happening? Are you using any registry cleaners or other software?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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I lost my initial reply by walking away from the computer too long. A really dumb mistake by a former network admin (Novel, yep – I’m old). I started with Windows 3.0 and Excel 2.0 at work in 1991, after having had a Mac at home since 1985.

Yes to admin rights and reviewing file associations section. The problem started a few weeks ago, before the last recommended OS update. I thought perhaps the update might fix the issue. No deal.

No registry cleaners in a long time. I recently loaded Net 5.0 for Handbrake. I also added a new 32″ 4K OLED monitor (beautiful!). As a former Admin, I’m very strict and careful about the software I use and what I may click on. I use Office 2019, no Office 365 and no One Drive. I’m also not on any social media (a Luddite of sorts). I almost always run on a local account, only logging into my MS account when absolutely necessary. I follow AW’s recommendations for software and really love some of the recommended freeware like Q-dir, DefenderUI, and Hasleo. I regular use Adobe PS Elements as well and we have 2 old QNAP dual bay servers, so I run Qfinder Pro on all machines.

I did a clean boot (startups disabled) and ran Sfc /ScanNow. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.

I ran DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth. No component store corruption detected.

Then I ran Dism /Online /Cleanup-image /RestoreHealth anyway. The restore operation completed successfully.

In addition I ran the Power & Sleep Troubleshooter and it told me my settings were wrong and changed Sleep from 15 to 10 and Power from 60 to 30 min. Go figure.

I think my issue is related to my attempt to get Photo Viewer to run as I don’t like Photos. I followed the instructions in this TechRadar article: https://www.techradar.com/how-to/how-to-restore-and-use-windows-photo-viewer-in-windows-10

I downloaded the linked registry file and ran it, but Windows still won’t let me choose Win Photo Viewer as a default. As yet I have not tried to undo this registry hack. For the first time in a long time I did not backup the Registry first, another dumb rookie mistake.

We’ve got 5 Win 10 Pro boxes all up-to-date per your recommendations and this is the only one with this issue, but it’s the one that I use to test out stuff before loading it anywhere else. It’s my home network as I am retired, but we also manage a very small 501(c)3 non-profit.

AskWoody has been the best investment I have ever made in my computing life. Thank you so very much for your help. -J

 

 

 

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bzj wrote:

We’ve got 5 Win 10 Pro boxes all up-to-date per your recommendations and this is the only one with this issue, but it’s the one that I use to test out stuff before loading it anywhere else.

Any chance you have a backup? If so, you could create a current backup before restoring an older backup, and see if you are correct about the problem being the photo viewer.

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bzj wrote:

3 yr old Win 10 pro machine (self-build).

I’m assuming this a “self-build” desktop machine. I say this only because my comment below would only apply to a desktop machine.

bzj wrote:

When PC goes to sleep all open windows close

One of the main “first principles” of PC fixing I practice is to “never assume complexity when an simple fix may be hiding in plain sight”.

First, open task manager (ctrl+shift+esc) and open the “start-up” tab. Disable all the non-essentials and restart your computer.

Second, test your RAM. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run command.
Type in “mdsched.exe” and hit Enter. Select the “Restart now and check for problems”

Third, the issue could happen if the desktop was somehow trying to hibernate but could not create/save the hiberfil.sys file.

To test, disable hibernation. From an admin CMD prompt run this:

powercfg -h off.

Then, restart your PC. Open task manager (ctrl+shift+esc) and sort by CPU usage. If CPU usage is very high, wait until it settles down, then open some browser windows, pause a moment, then sleep the machine. Pause for a few more moments then wake it up. If the browser windows haven’t disappeared, you’re home free.

I have another idea, but if not done precisely it could leave you up a creek without you know what.

Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

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Desktop Intel Core i9-11900K, Asus z590, 128 GB ram, Nvidia RTX-3080, Samsung 980Pro 1TB OS, 980Pro 2TB data, 870EVO 4TB data, 10TB WD Black HD backup. Of course I have BUs.

Thank you TechTango. I tried all that you suggested to no avail. However, I was unable to find the memtest results in either the Event Viewer log for the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool or by using Powershell from a command prompt. I did watch the progress of the tool and it hadn’t found any errors by the end of the second pass.

Disabling hibernation did not fix closing all windows when putting the PC to sleep. I have been running all my machines with FastStart off for a long time now with no apparent issues, but I turned it back on; no help.

I did find that my new Alienware monitor apparently added a bunch of stuff (crap?) from Dell without asking me if it was OK.

Default Programs continues to revert to Windows defaults after Sleep or Shutdown with Hibernate off and FastStart on.

Inspection of the Registry indicates the Photo Viewer changes took place but I’m not knowledgeable enough to detect problems with the entries.

I am considering using Tweaking.com – Windows Repair from Older Geeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I attempted to post a screenshot of Dell processes but it didn’t come through?

Thanks, -J

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bzj wrote:

Yes to admin rights and reviewing file associations section.

Did you also review the Default apps section?

If so and they’re set to your preferences, suggest you open regedit to this tree and check the UserChoice setting for some of the file extensions that don’t open with your preferred app.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts

Windows, Edge & MS Store updates will sometimes reset these to Microsoft’s preferred apps and, because Microsoft added a Hash value, it’s no longer possible to manually edit that specific registry setting in Windows 10 & 11. If you do that, the Hash will no longer match and Windows will reset it back to the Microsoft default for that extension… BTDT!

The fix is to either use Settings > Apps > Default apps > Choose default apps by file type (and redo them whenever an update changes them back to Microsoft’s default) or download the free SetUserFTA Personal Edition program (link is located in the large blue section of the main page) and use it to set the registry settings to use your preferred apps.

FYI, I’ve been using the Personal Edition since Oct 2018 setup to run from a batch file during every system boot/reboot to ensure 211 different file extensions & network protocols are always set for my app preferences and, so far, it’s worked great!

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Cybertooth

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@n0ads, out of curiosity, I clicked on the link for setuserfta.com and, before I could land on the page, this happened:

To be fair, though, according to virustotal.com only Bitdefender and G-Data (2 of 96 scanners) flag the site as malicious.

 

Keep Running Windows 7 Safely for Years to Come  
Make Windows 10 look and work like Windows 7

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That will be because it bypasses (attempt to) the restrictions on changing the default browser imposed by UPCD.sys. This does not make it malicious, but it does give the AV products something to crow about.

cheers, Paul

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Cybertooth

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My SOP of late is to immediately upon login go to Default apps and set everything to my preferences. I also go to choose apps by file type to set .pdf to Foxit Reader as it will still be on MS Edge and .txt to NoteTab Light, which will be on Notepad. I left 28 windows open last night before putting PC to Sleep including Tweaking.com – Windows Repair, which I had not yet used, it was just loaded and started. Today everything is still open except all windows were resized to one quarter of the screen and placed in the top left corner of my other monitor (27″ Asus 4K). Once I clicked on a few windows some of them resized themselves and went back to their original locations.?

Since my last post I have disabled all the Dell stuff including renaming the various .exe to .ex0. I also disabled DellClientManagement and DellTechHub services. In addition in Startup I disabled Elements Auto Creations 2019 and in the Elements Organizer>Preferences>Media Analysis I unchecked Run Face Recognition Automatically, Show Smart tags, Generate Auto Creations and Automatically Analyze Images and Videos because I don’t use the Organizer (I’ve considered it junk ever since Elements 4.0).

Just did a cold, cold boot (shutdown plus turned off power supply for 30 seconds), Hibernate is still off and Fast Start still on. File associations reverted to defaults, but all Chrome windows restored upon opening.

That’s all I have time for now as I’m headed to a meeting. Thanks to all. -J

 

 

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Ok, I ran Tweaking.com – Windows Repair including all the preliminary actions it recommended as well as running in Safe Mode with Networking. It did not like my Reparse Points because I have relocated Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures and Videos to my D:\ data drive by changing their Locations in their respective Properties. I did not reset these to C:\ , because I prefer as much of my data as possible not to be on the OS drive. As to repairs I only used the Preset: Permissions Only. Apparently it fixed the problem. Default Program changes and Apps set by File Types survived a cold boot. Also Photo Viewer is now available as selection either under Apps set by File Types or by right clicking on a file in Explorer and drilling down to Look for More Apps. It is not available as a Default App.

I read the info at UPCD.sys . Very illuminating if not outright disgusting that MS is once again exercising its “dictatorial” rights. I chose not to use the SetUserFTA Personal Edition program at this time to give a little time to assess the impact of all the other changes I have made. However it is good to know that it exists. I would recommend that everyone becomes aware of UCPD.sys, the UserChoice Protection Driver. This might be a good topic for a future AW article. My inclination is to just kill it altogether.

I also want to restart the Dell updates for the new Monitor, but I don’t think I want any of the rest of their stuff.

Everyone has been so very helpful! AskWoody rocks. I believe that another donation to OlderGeeks is in order. Thank you to all.  -J

 

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bzj wrote:

I would recommend that everyone becomes aware of UCPD.sys, the UserChoice Protection Driver. This might be a good topic for a future AW article. My inclination is to just kill it altogether.

UCPD will still allow access, but only if the process is signed by Microsoft and not on the deny list. This means third-party programs will be blocked from making changes to default apps. The deny list includes Windows tools (ex: regedit.exe, reg.exe, or powershell.exe) to prevent third-party app developers from using them as workaround to make changes to default apps.

UCPD does not prevent users from manually making changes to their default apps settings. UCPD only affects third-party apps.

UCPD can be a good security feature to prevent third-party apps from making unwanted or unknown changes to your default apps choices.

However, if UCPD is blocking a third-party app you want to use to make changes to your default apps, you are able to disable UCPD to allow third-party apps to make changes to default apps again.

Enable or Disable UserChoice Protection Driver (UCPD) in Windows 11 and 10

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bzj

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